The program is set up to be an effective way to help address the need for more affordable workplace housing throughout Missouri, Illinois and Iowa, said Ron Tierney, St. Louis Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program Program Coordinator.

The discussion surrounding tiny homes has taken a new turn — inmates at Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green will soon be constructing the homes for sale in the Tri-State area, with a similar project set to follow in Iowa.

Stakeholders affected by the new initiatives gathered for the Tri-State Housing Summit on Friday, June 8, in Quincy. Northeast Community Action Corporation (NECAC) and area partners looked to a similar program in South Dakota for the Aspire Partnership Prison Homes program that will provide Missouri inmates a valuable skill for when they are released, give members of the St. Louis Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Program an active role in supervising the project and boost the amount of affordable workplace housing available to residents in the area. Following the summit, the program reached the first stage: Teams at Northeast Correctional Center will begin constructing the approximately 500-square-foot homes under the guidance of members of the apprenticeship program, after details such as the precise home dimensions are calculated.